


An Extraordinary Day in an Ordinary World

by ThePenAndTheSword



Series: Old Works [2]
Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Arthur's POV, BAMF Arthur, BAMF Merlin, Gen, Injury, Protective Merlin, bandits, implied magic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-31
Updated: 2014-07-31
Packaged: 2018-02-11 04:16:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,318
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2053221
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThePenAndTheSword/pseuds/ThePenAndTheSword
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Arthur and Merlin go for a ride in the woods and are attacked by bandits.</p>
            </blockquote>





	An Extraordinary Day in an Ordinary World

            It wasn’t that Camelot was a bad place to live; it was quite the opposite really. Camelot was just… difficult. You were never bored. The thought made Arthur chuckle. People always assumed Arthur never noticed the strange occurrences around the castle. They believed he was blind to the times when people were behaving as though enchanted, they thought he never noticed when everybody’s luck was suspiciously horrible. They also thought he was oblivious to the fact that things seemed to resolve themselves. People went back to normal, creatures were vanquished surprisingly easily, and luck improved quickly. It hadn’t always been that way, but it was life nowadays. The King of Camelot smiled when he glanced at his riding companion, his ever present servant, and close friend (though he would never admit it), Merlin. On days like today, when the pressures of ruling a kingdom became too much for him, Arthur would just leave. He’d vanish into the woods for days on end with Merlin, and always returned more or less intact. Everything was easier in the woods; Arthur’s thoughts were clearer and his mind more responsive. Even his senses seemed keener.

            Speaking of keener senses, something wasn’t right. It was too quiet. No birds chattered in the trees, no small animals rustled in the bushes, even Merlin had shut up. A quick glance to his right proved that Merlin was still with him, and seemed just as wary as Arthur. It took less than a second for the remnants of his good mood to vanish completely. Three riders appeared on the road in front of them, and three behind. Armed men, outlaws most likely, crept from behind the trees with weapons at the ready. One of the riders spurred his horse forward. It was a small beast, probably underfed but tough looking. It shared the same battle-weary look as its companions, both the two and four legged kinds.

            The man had an aura of command about him. He spoke arrogantly, and his body language showed that he was hoping for a good fight. “Arthur Pendragon. What a lovely surprise, we’ve caught a king. You are severely outnumbered, and your situation is quite hopeless. Lay down your sword and no harm will come to you or your servant.”         

            Arthur snorted and spurred his horse forward as well, meeting the bandit leader head-on. “I suppose disarming myself would even the odds a bit, but I don’t usually play fair with outlaws.” He smiled a cold smile without even a hint of mirth. “Let me make you a counteroffer. Leave now and you can live.” Anybody else would have been afraid of facing the bandits, undeniably they were outnumbered at least ten to one, and that was counting Merlin. But Arthur had several advantages. His own arrogance cowed some of the outlaws, they would be wary when fighting, most would wait for others to attack first. He was also exceptionally skilled with a blade. And finally, Arthur’s gut instinct told him that he would be safe. Since he started noticing the presence of a guardian angel of sorts in Camelot, he had acquired a sense of when the angel was watching over him in times of danger. A sort of sixth sense he supposed.

            The bandit leader smiled as well, but this was a different smile, not unlike the smile of a child handed a new toy. It was just as frightening as it was intended to be. He kicked his horse and rode back to his original position. Once there, he raised his hand and said one word. “Charge.”

            The men in the trees sprang forward like hounds eager for the kill. Arthur unsheathed his sword and glanced at Merlin. The servant’s sword was out and he seemed ready to fight for his life once again. And suddenly there was no more time to think, the outlaws were upon them. The first reached for the reins of Arthur’s horse, and was met by the sharp edge of Arthur’s blade. Another tried the same trick, and it was no more successful. As Arthur was pulling his sword from the stump of a bandit’s neck, another man charged at Arthur and knocked him from his saddle. He dropped his sword in shock when the outlaw landed on him. This was not good. He saw spots for just a moment when the bandit slammed his head on the ground, before the warrior in him reacted. With a growl, Arthur kneed the man in his groin and quickly rolled out from underneath him. He spotted his sword lying in the dirt and grabbed it just in time to sheath it in another bandit’s stomach. He pulled out his sword and charged at the man that had knocked him down, taking off his head in one fell swoop.

            With a sudden panic, Arthur realized he had lost sight of Merlin. He scanned the area, looking among the bandits before spotting Merlin with his back to a tree. There were a couple corpses near him as well, seems he was handling himself. Arthur was jolted out of his thoughts as yet another bandit ran at him. This one was slightly smarter at least; he dodged Arthur’s first swing and continued moving forward, getting in perfect range to use his twin daggers. Arthur cursed and stepped backwards, trying to dodge or block the lightning quick strikes. His gaze alighted on his shield, now lying in the dirt from being knocked off of his absent horse. He scooped it up just in time to catch one of the blades in the thick wood. The King was suddenly very glad he chose to take his wooden shield with him today rather than the metal one he usually favored. Arthur smashed the shield into his attacker’s face and advanced, raining blows upon the unfortunate outlaw. His focus narrowed to only that bandit, and he didn’t notice the outlaw approaching from behind until it was too late.

            The heavy hilt of a sword smashed into the back of Arthur’s head, clouding his vision and knocking him to the ground. Everything became a mass of hands and feet as most of the surviving bandits surrounded him. Arthur flailed his arms and legs wildly, striking pain driven hits against the outlaws surrounding him. He heard cries of pain, but he wasn’t sure they came from him, the bandits, or both. A strong boot encountered his face and he instinctively curled inwards. Blood ran into his eyes and he couldn’t see a thing. He heard a loud bang, and suddenly the kicks and blows stopped. Arthur cautiously opened his eyes and saw Merlin’s worried face leaning over him.

            “Arthur? Are you alright?” Merlin’s eyes seemed to have a strange color to them, gold rather than the usual blue, though it quickly returned to normal. Arthur blamed the concussion he almost certainly had acquired.

            He coughed painfully before speaking. “I’m alright Merlin. What happened?” Another fit of coughing hit Arthur when he tried to speak again.

            Merlin quickly helped Arthur sit up, and glanced around before finally speaking. “The leader dismounted when they surrounded you. I stabbed him from behind, and his mounted friends rode away with him. I stabbed a couple of the ones surrounding you and the rest fled.”

            Arthur chuckled weakly. “You’re becoming quite the mighty warrior.” A rushing noise roared in his ears and everything faded to black.

            Several hours later, Arthur woke up with a start in his own bed, surrounded by his knights and Gaius. Nobody would tell him how on earth Merlin had managed to get him home, it seemed all they were interested in doing was scolding Arthur for taking such risks. After about the fifth time he promised he would take the knights along on any future outing, he spotted Merlin in the corner. The bloody idiot was smirking. He’d never hear the end of this.

**Author's Note:**

> To be honest, I really just wrote this because I need practice writing fight scenes. If I get a request, I may write a sequel with the same events from Merlin's POV. Let me know what you think and please send criticism! I'm always looking for what I can do to improve.


End file.
